I do not like this!!

[Moxie]

I got a letter from my OB saying an audit found that I had overpaid my account by $92 so they sent me a Visa check card with $92 on it. Um, no. I paid you in cash, I should get cash back! I can't get $92 from the ATM. Plus, I'm sure they have some money-making deal with Visa so they are making money by billing me incorrectly!

[LucyStoner]

Annoying, but I'd probably just buy it from myself but using it all in one go at the grocery store (at least every 10 days I drop $100 in one go at the grocery store) and then move $92 of my grocery budget to wherever I wanted the refund to go.

[Guest]

Is this a JAWM? Because I've had enough billing drama that hasn't ever even been refunded that I'd be thrilled to get even an inconvenient form of payment over being wrongly sent to collections, given months of runaround, and billed repeatedly after the fact despite settling accounts.

 

Most companies don't issue refunds in kind, but through a certain method (check, debit, etc) if it isn't s credit card transaction. That's really common?

[Guest]

And yeah, I'd just use it toward something else and shift money that would have gone toward that thing if need be. Keep it as a gas card for example.

[meena]

I had a similar feeling recently when we received a rebate for some pet medicine. It was in the form of a Visa prepaid rather than a check. I would much rather have had a check so that I could immediately deposit it and then use the funds to pay the credit card we used for the meds to earn points. Now I have to use the rebate card to pay for something from a different budget category (probably groceries) and shift that part of the budget over to pay the CC. Not a huge deal, especially since we pay off our credit card every month, so this just entails shifting the money around on paper. But for my linear-thinking brain it creates too many steps rather than just the simple +/- it might have been.

[marbel]

Yeah, I'd be annoyed too. But I think it's more about convenience for the medical practice than a money-making scheme though.  Many people dislike getting checks now.  Do you really think they overbill on purpose so they can make $$ buying VISA check cards?   Or was that hyperbole?   :-)     

 

[LucyStoner]

If it was caught in an audit, they may have some reason they don't want to refund people's cards or whatnot. If it has been a year or more, they can't assume the billing information they have on file is accurate.

 

I'm not sure how they could be making money off this though. I suppose they could be getting a slight discount from the card issuer (the card issuer knowing full well many of the cards won't be fully used) but unless this is a giant practice, it doesn't seem they could be making any significant sum. They'd have to be misbilling a lot of people. And if they want to make money, skip the pricey audit and never let you know about the overpayment. :)

Edited September 15, 2016 by LucyStoner

[El...]

I'm with you!  That's annoying!  A check I'll deposit, and then carry on with life, but a card I have to remember to use.  Annoying!

[marbel]

I thought most banks now had ATMs that dispense down to the dollar?  The regular bank we use has one, and the bank that used to hold our mortgage had one.  Now the credit union that is local here that I have a couple of accounts at does not, but they are a small local credit union with only two branches, one on each side of town. 

 

 

But, even if you don't have a bank that can dispense down to the dollar, you could go to the store, use it to buy something you you would be buying anyway (like groceries) and then just get the cash back for the remaining amount. 

 

Can you get cash back?  In my experience, the card maintains a balance till it is zero.

 

I've also never seen an ATM that gives out dollar bills!  Nothing less than a ten-spot, in my experience. 

[regentrude]

I don't understand why this is a problem. They can hardly mail you wads of cash. It is money.  Just use it next time you are at the store.

Edited September 15, 2016 by regentrude

[kewb]

Yes, I would be annoyed that it was a visa Gift Card and not a check. I would also be happy to have gotten a refund at all.

[regentrude]

 What was most frustrating was the change left on it.  Can't get 47c out of an ATM OR cash back on a purchase. 

 

But you can buy something for a dollar and use the card plus and extra 53 cents. I see people augment their card balances with cash in the grocery store all the  time.

[LucyStoner]

Really? Wow. I totally thought most banks had them now!

 

I would guess getting cash back would depend on the card. When I worked for Amazon one Christmas season when DH was laid off, we got paid on a card like that. I can't remember if it was Visa or Mastercard. We were able to do ONE free ATM withdrawl, the rest cost money (seriously, that's so scammy IMO.) But if we used it to buy something, we could get the cash back out using it as a debit. What was most frustrating was the change left on it. Can't get 47c out of an ATM OR cash back on a purchase.

Most places allow you to use two or more forms of payment. "Please use up the balance on this card and then I will pay the balance with my debit card."

[domestic_engineer]

Here's a hack that I find helpful, assuming you are an Amazon-aholic ...

Take prepaid Visa card and buy an electronic gift card at Amazon for yourself for the exact amount (cents and all).  Then you don't have to carry Visa card around, find an ATM, worry about the cents, or worry about the expiration date.    And best of all, you can do all the exchanging in your PJs at home!

[prairiewindmomma]

Can you get out of the grocery store for less than $200? I sure can't. I'd take it along with me to the store and be done with it.

 

I'd maybe look askance at receiving a gift card, but I'd also be ok with it as I live in a population where a number of people don't have bank accounts due to immigation/unemployment issues (see more statistics here: https://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/2013report.pdf)and move on.

 

Honestly, there are so many other things in my life worth the energy of emotional aggravation that this barely gets an eyebrow raise from me.

[Guest]

It is annoying to me because, with a check, I snap a photo, deposit it on the app and I'm done. I've forgotten to pay with the stupid card twice now.

 

And this is a HUGE hospital. Of course they are making money by partnering with Visa.

[mamiof5]

Sorry, I don't see the problem either. Actually in my case the check is more inconvenient, it'd sit in my wallet for a while before I have the time to drive around by the bank or ATM.

 

And, I'd be pleasantly surprised for any refund that I didn't know about 😀

[momto3innc]

I will be honest and say I don't see the issue. They realized they owed you a refund you didn't even know about. Then they paid you. I'd just use it for groceries this week and call it done. I'd prefer that to a check I needed to deposit. Well, not that I would care if it was a check either but can't really see the issue with the card. Just use it to buy something you would buy anyway and call it good. Really "found" money is always a win in my opinion :)

[marbel]

I will be honest and say I don't see the issue. They realized they owed you a refund you didn't even know about. Then they paid you. I'd just use it for groceries this week and call it done. I'd prefer that to a check I needed to deposit. Well, not that I would care if it was a check either but can't really see the issue with the card. Just use it to buy something you would buy anyway and call it good. Really "found" money is always a win in my opinion :)

 

Now that you  mention it, if I got money I wasn't expecting, and had no clue why the refund was given, I'd be tempted to spend it on something we wouldn't typically buy anyway. Something fun. 

 

(But it would be odd for me to get a medical refund that I wasn't expecting. Sigh. ;-) )

[LucyStoner]

It is annoying to me because, with a check, I snap a photo, deposit it on the app and I'm done. I've forgotten to pay with the stupid card twice now.

 

And this is a HUGE hospital. Of course they are making money by partnering with Visa.

How do you know they are partnering with visa? Even at a large hospital making a buck or two off each overbilling is still a lot less than they spent auditing their billing records. Internal and external audits are not cheap no matter how you figure it.

 

It's possible they are paying for VISA cards due to accounting issues with undeposited checks.

[LucyStoner]

I can set location reminders for gift cards on my phone. So if I am in a bookstore that I have a gift card too, my phone reminds me that I have a gift card to spend. Put a reminder in your phone to alert you everything you go near the grocery store until it's used, lol.

[purpleowl]

Do you normally pay for things with a credit/debit card? If so, put the card in the spot where your regular credit card is, and then you'll automatically pull it out when it's time to pay.

[kitten18]

Here's a hack that I find helpful, assuming you are an Amazon-aholic ...

Take prepaid Visa card and buy an electronic gift card at Amazon for yourself for the exact amount (cents and all). Then you don't have to carry Visa card around, find an ATM, worry about the cents, or worry about the expiration date. And best of all, you can do all the exchanging in your PJs at home!

Yes, I was going to post the same. I've done it many times, it's very handy.

[justasque]

It is annoying to me because, with a check, I snap a photo, deposit it on the app and I'm done. I've forgotten to pay with the stupid card twice now.

 

And this is a HUGE hospital. Of course they are making money by partnering with Visa.

 

How are they making money?  I don't get that part.

 

(I do like depositing checks by app.  SO easy and convenient.)

 

Do you normally pay for things with a credit/debit card? If so, put the card in the spot where your regular credit card is, and then you'll automatically pull it out when it's time to pay.

 

I forget that I have gift cards sometimes, plus it's a pain to have a purse full of them.  (They can accumulate if they are for places you rarely go.)  

Since you can use the Visa anywhere, you can rubber-band the card to your credit card, to remind you to use it first next time you go for the credit card.

[regentrude]

It is annoying to me because, with a check, I snap a photo, deposit it on the app and I'm done. I've forgotten to pay with the stupid card twice now.

 

 

But then you go to that same bank's ATM to withdraw the money in cash so you can shop? Does not seem less trouble to me than simply handing over the card to pay.

Edited September 15, 2016 by regentrude

[J-rap]

I've never heard of getting a Visa check card from a business for something like that.  I think it's strange!  I doubt I'd complain about it, but I do think it's strange.

[Jean in Newcastle]

That is a huge leap to accuse them of some kind of billing fraud. 

[Guest]

That is a huge leap to accuse them of some kind of billing fraud.

Who said billing fraud??

 

I think I need a Hive break.

[Jean in Newcastle]

. Plus, I'm sure they have some money-making deal with Visa so they are making money by billing me incorrectly!

 

Billing you incorrectly so that they could make money would be billing fraud. 

[Forget-Me-Not]

But you can buy something for a dollar and use the card plus and extra 53 cents. I see people augment their card balances with cash in the grocery store all the time.

With regular credit cards yes, but IME this is not the case with Visa gift cards. Unless something has changed since the last time I used one, you aren't allowed to combine forms of payment. It's their obnoxious little way of making sure you discard the tiny amount left on the card. I'm sure it adds up over thousands and thousands of card holders.

 

My husband gets these things regularly for professional surveys he completes. We always roll the entire balance over to a gift card we know we'll use, usually at Amazon because it can be done online, forgotten, and Amazon automatically applies the balance to my next purchase(s).

[LucyStoner]

With regular credit cards yes, but IME this is not the case with Visa gift cards. Unless something has changed since the last time I used one, you aren't allowed to combine forms of payment. It's their obnoxious little way of making sure you discard the tiny amount left on the card. I'm sure it adds up over thousands and thousands of card holders.

 

My husband gets these things regularly for professional surveys he completes. We always roll the entire balance over to a gift card we know we'll use, usually at Amazon because it can be done online, forgotten, and Amazon automatically applies the balance to my next purchase(s).

I've done it a lot.

[Tap]

I didn't read all the replies so maybe this is redundant.  Ask your bank if they can deposit it into your account or cash it for you.   I have done this with several VISA/ AM EX gift cards. In fact, I just did it last month with an almost $700 one from Verizon for a BOGO Free phone deal.  It was a prepaid debit card.  I asked them to cash it and then deposit the cash.  It was handled the same as a check.  I have also done this with ones from other mailed rebate cards.  

 

Otherwise use it as a form of payment on your cc bill. 

 

 

ETA: grocery stores can do split payments you just need to know how much is on the card.  Call the number on the back and get a total balance. Then tell the cashier to ring the amount to the card, and leave the remaining balance for you to pay as a debit or whatever you want. 

 

Example.  the bill is $100.  The cashier types into  the register  $92 and runs the gift card.  Then the cashier type in $8 and runs your regular form of payment.  No biggie.  If a cashier says they can't do it, then ask for a manager.  I have worked in retail 20 years  and have always been able to split payment if the person knew how much was available on the prepaid card. 

Edited September 16, 2016 by Tap

[Catalytic]

I always use random gift cards on my cable or cell bills.  Easy enough to type in the specific amount on the card, and then I throw it in the garbage.  One of my credit cards sends them as rewards randomly, it used to annoy me, now I just go pay on one of those bills with them as soon as I get it in the mail and then toss it in the shredder.

[Katy]

I don't understand the hatred of checks.  With every bank we have (except retirement accounts), we have a phone app that lets us make instant deposits by scanning the check with the camera phone.  Then, depending on which bank it is, we hold the checks for 5-10 days before we shred them.  I don't have to drive anywhere to deposit a check.  I do get how if the wrong person uses a visa card, visa assumes liability, whereas with checks the issuer might have to re-send payment.

[Kalmia]

I hate gift cards. Millions of pounds of plastic dumped in the landfill or burned in incinerators each year for a transaction that takes moments to make? These things are layered with different types of plastics very difficult to recycle and not accepted by most recycling companies. I believe you can (inconveniently) mail them to a company that makes them into hotel key cards or something. Paper checks or electronic deposits are much preferred by this family. So the OP can add an environmental reason to her other legitimate complaints when she talks to the billing office.

[cjzimmer1]

I don't understand the hatred of checks.  With every bank we have (except retirement accounts), we have a phone app that lets us make instant deposits by scanning the check with the camera phone.  Then, depending on which bank it is, we hold the checks for 5-10 days before we shred them.  I don't have to drive anywhere to deposit a check.  I do get how if the wrong person uses a visa card, visa assumes liability, whereas with checks the issuer might have to re-send payment.

 

Well that only works on the presumption that you have a smart phone.  Not everyone has one of those.  Personally I still prefer a check (even with having to drive to the bank) to a card but I can work with either. 

[ktgrok]

I don't understand the hatred of checks.  With every bank we have (except retirement accounts), we have a phone app that lets us make instant deposits by scanning the check with the camera phone.  Then, depending on which bank it is, we hold the checks for 5-10 days before we shred them.  I don't have to drive anywhere to deposit a check.  I do get how if the wrong person uses a visa card, visa assumes liability, whereas with checks the issuer might have to re-send payment.

 

Many people don't have checking accounts,  particularly the poor. If they want the money off the check they have to go to a check cashing place that takes a percentage of the check or pay a fee or whatever. For them, the gift card is a much better deal. 

[VaKim]

Is it weird that every time I see the title of this thread I think "I do not like this Sam I Am, I do not like Green Eggs and Ham!"

Lol. You're not the only one. And yesterday morning, the thread right above this one was titled something like, "Is Dr. Seuss known worldwide?" I should have taken a screenshot.  :lol:

[happi duck]

We are part of an ongoing research project and get paid via visa gift card.

 

If not used promptly the card starts taking a fee until it reaches zero. (Don't ask how i know...)

 

Now I immediately use it on Amazon gift codes or a grocery store gift card in the exact amount.

 

I find them very inconvenient and would also expect a check for a refund...youd think they'd want the paper trail to prove you got your refund.

[HRAAB]

Don't even get me started on billing mistakes.  Billing mistakes with no resolution in sight.  Right now I'd take a gift card just to get my money back in some manner.  And I HATE gift cards.

[Garga]

I'd prefer the card. With a check I have to add a trip to the bank into my already packed schedule. With a card, I put it next to my credit card and use it at the grocery store next time. I never get out of the grocery store for under $120. Easy, done, absolutely zero effort on my part.

 

Checks--ugh. I have to look up my account number, remember to bring it with me to the bank, actually go to the bank, fill out a deposit form, have actual human contact with the teller. Ugh. :)

[Guest]

Is it weird that every time I see the title of this thread I think "I do not like this Sam I Am, I do not like Green Eggs and Ham!"

Nope, I thought of that when I first saw the title too :D